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What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
Well, this is what's on the lathe tonight. It is never too early to start working on Christmas Ornaments. This Curly Maple finial will go on a yet to be made ornament globe.
Green single-turned silver maple burl natural edge bowl catching sunlight. Off to dry before sanding and finishing.
Very nice, what is your drying process?
Thank you. In this case, it will be a week in a paper bag in the house and then after a week out of the bag it should be ready to sand and finish. This should be pretty quick to dry and unlikely to crack because: 1. Winter downed tree with less moisture 2. Thin turned 3. Burl is less prone to crack/split. I'll be sure to post a pick in two weeks if it turns into The Liberty Bell!
Cherry Burl. I was really worried it would blow apart - but it hung in there. 
Persimmon
Kent just wondering what tool do you use for hollowing the inside of the top part of your form while using the Trent Bosch system. I have the same but think I need to buy an adjustable cutter of some description. Perhaps like a Jamieson cutter? Nice form Kent.
Thanks, Norm. I bought a cheap set of carbides that included a swan neck. I use that for the top part and general smoothing pass.
A few days ago I quickly turned a cherry rattle to show a younger turner the concept. After hollowing the head of the rattle I added a few kernels of popcorn for the rattle effect before gluing it.
I thought mung beans might be another good choice but haven’t grown bean sprouts lately, so had none in stock.
What do you all use inside this type of rattle?
Yesterday she made her first captive ring rattle. Quite good for her first time. Sent her home with two more hard maple blanks with which to practice. I didn’t think to get a photo of her turning…
I thought mung beans might be another good choice but haven’t grown bean sprouts lately, so had none in stock.
What do you all use inside this type of rattle?
Yesterday she made her first captive ring rattle. Quite good for her first time. Sent her home with two more hard maple blanks with which to practice. I didn’t think to get a photo of her turning…
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I haven't made rattle but when I do I thought about using plastic ball bearing balls:
www.amazon.com/uxcell-Bearing-Plastic-Precision-Frosted/dp/B0FHKQLTZV
Or a few steel ball bearings might make a nice feel and sound.
And it seems like either a harder wood or one with good sound properties, such as Sassafras, might be nice. Have to experiment.
I finally got some time in my shop yesterday. Things have been busy with plowing snow, repairing our wood boiler, and helping my son buy his first home. I took some walnut from my firewood bin with the intent of just turning some simple bowls for an Empty Bowls event in May. It was wet wood, (yes, I burn wet wood) so I wasn't sanding any of them, just making shavings.
I've started to sometimes take photos during stages of more production (less artsy) type of work. The first piece somehow had a natural edge wing/rim around, so I deviated a bit to see how thin I could comfortably go and not get too bogged down. Pat Carroll did one in his demo for our club's May meeting. He also had 8 of us doing them in a hands-on class the next day.
My slight deviation to a little artsy was fun and good practice. It's nice when you have wood that you really don't care if you ruin it. It's about 3mm thick everywhere and came out OK. I was pleased that it just took 59 minutes. I did the other 3 bowls in the hour afterwards.
One tool that has really helped make me better (and faster) at turning bowls, is a scissor caliper that Pat left for me. I had wanted to buy one for a while, but didn't, but he gave me one for putting him up and showing him around northern Michigan a bit. (BTW, he's a great demonstrator and houseguest, so if you get the chance to have him, do it)
I've started to sometimes take photos during stages of more production (less artsy) type of work. The first piece somehow had a natural edge wing/rim around, so I deviated a bit to see how thin I could comfortably go and not get too bogged down. Pat Carroll did one in his demo for our club's May meeting. He also had 8 of us doing them in a hands-on class the next day.
My slight deviation to a little artsy was fun and good practice. It's nice when you have wood that you really don't care if you ruin it. It's about 3mm thick everywhere and came out OK. I was pleased that it just took 59 minutes. I did the other 3 bowls in the hour afterwards.
One tool that has really helped make me better (and faster) at turning bowls, is a scissor caliper that Pat left for me. I had wanted to buy one for a while, but didn't, but he gave me one for putting him up and showing him around northern Michigan a bit. (BTW, he's a great demonstrator and houseguest, so if you get the chance to have him, do it)
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John, safety is paramount. Little kids are destructive little critters, and to be on the safe side it's good to assume that they will figure out a way to break a rattle. What many turners do is put dried corn kernels inside of rattles. The sound is nice, and if they happen to be ingested by the little critters then no harm is done.
Good points. I did some reading about the safety specs for toys for small children and babies.
Some of the main points:
- Choke hazards - must be large enough to not fit through a std"choke tube"
- No small detachable parts on surface.
- Non-toxic materials.
- Strong enough not be broken an enthusiastic kid.
- No sharp edges, pinch points, or splinters.
because it contains Bacillus cereus spores and lectins which can cause food poisoning and digestive issues like vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain." I didn't see where it said the type of dry rice. Pat W. said he uses popcorn kernals.
The part about splinters might be a concern with some types of wood and grain orientations.
The strength part makes me wonder about what happens if a captive ring is broken along the grain - could any pieces be choking hazards? Making the body of a hollowed rattle strong should not be a problem (unless given to the child the incredible hulk)
As for what's inside - what's inside commercial baby rattles? I've never smashed or cut one open to check.
Do they use something like rice? Sound more like plastic beads.
Hey, perhaps perfectly safe projects for captive rings would be wedding goblets and art! And things to puzzle beginning turners...
Relatively safe noise making things could be a pair of moraccas - I have several sets- kids from babies to my age love them. Google tells me they are often filled with seeds, beads, or pebbles. But not much practical use for captive rings on them...
I had a fair sized piece of spalted mystery wood from the dead tree that blew down behind the garage.
Decided to turn a quick bowl but uncovered some bad rotten spots inside once I got started.
I figured it was on the lathe, so I stood to the side and kept at it till I had a rough idea on how I wanted it to look.
I set it in a plastic bowl and put a cottage cheese container inside it then filled it with blue tinted slow cure resin.
Once in the vacuum chamber the soft spots sucked up so much resin, I had to top it off twice.
It bubbled away in there for nearly an hour!
It's in the pressure pot now probably won't be cured for a couple of days.
I'll see if I can finish turning it then.
Craig
Decided to turn a quick bowl but uncovered some bad rotten spots inside once I got started.
I figured it was on the lathe, so I stood to the side and kept at it till I had a rough idea on how I wanted it to look.
I set it in a plastic bowl and put a cottage cheese container inside it then filled it with blue tinted slow cure resin.
Once in the vacuum chamber the soft spots sucked up so much resin, I had to top it off twice.
It bubbled away in there for nearly an hour!
It's in the pressure pot now probably won't be cured for a couple of days.
I'll see if I can finish turning it then.
Craig
Finished the lid for a celtic cross Keepsake Urn. The cross on the body used a 22.5 degree angle and the cross on the finial lid used a 30 degree angle. The inserts for the body and the finial were cut from the blanks. The small blank was made up of 2 maple and 2 walnut 1/4" square sticks. The blanks for the body were made up of 2" square sticks. The small cross was cut with a 1 mm (.040") slitting saw mounted on my Bridgeport Mill with a wooden angle fixture holding the blank in the milling vise. The inserts for the small cross were cut with the same angle fixture and for each slice I would raise the table .080". The large inserts were cut on the miter saw to the thickness of a saw cut.
The lid has a 1.625" - 10TPI male thread and the body has the matching female thread and when I first screwed them together it was just short of alignment so I rubbed the body on a sandpaper board, tried it again and it matched perfectly. Note that when I cut the threads, if I don't already have one I make a block with the thread to use to hold the lid or body to complete it. The lid is held by a block with the female thread.
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Working on the other dead hickory bowl. It had several voids from bugs I filled with black walnut dust and thin CA and some interesting grain patterns.
Back in my shop after 4 months of traveling. I need to turn some bowls from my shelves full of blanks so I can process some mesquite I brought back with me (to fill the shelving up again
Pictured is one of a half dozen various pieces turned in the last few days.
I need to turn some bowls from my shelves full of blanks so I can process some mesquite I brought back with me (to fill the shelving up again
You have freshly cut mesquite? I wanna be your friend!
two things
(two lathes)
first is my littel coyote call. It has a mistake. did not groove it properly, for a typical Lanyard. Thats kinda of. I was re-learning several types of tools, skew, spindle gouge, round nose scraper. Has been on the Lathe for a while! - I'm getting ready for the next thing.
second is an experiment.. had some fairly old system 3 15 min. epoxy. and a little kit of Rolio mica powders.
depending on the outcome, I may well just turn a flat bottom groove on the game call.. and modify it.
in the past, I used CA and filler such as sawdust and Antler dust.
(two lathes)
first is my littel coyote call. It has a mistake. did not groove it properly, for a typical Lanyard. Thats kinda of. I was re-learning several types of tools, skew, spindle gouge, round nose scraper. Has been on the Lathe for a while! - I'm getting ready for the next thing.
second is an experiment.. had some fairly old system 3 15 min. epoxy. and a little kit of Rolio mica powders.
depending on the outcome, I may well just turn a flat bottom groove on the game call.. and modify it.
in the past, I used CA and filler such as sawdust and Antler dust.
I do expect some problems with an epoxy that is 15 minutes, and also old!
* rubbery and wont turn or polish well.
* constant manual turning of the piece to maintain the expected running of the epoxy.
* rubbery and wont turn or polish well.
* constant manual turning of the piece to maintain the expected running of the epoxy.
,
Very nice Pat, I finished the hard maple vase for my wife for Valentine’s Day. Hobby Lobby has a great selection of artificial, and dried, flowers.
Bob
Bob
Very nice Bob!!
I’ve shopped there for those flowers. But today, I picked fresh daffodils from the yard. Hard to believe they’re blooming already.
and it is soaking up a ton of finish.
What kind of finish? For “danish” oil I sometimes put the piece in a bag and pour in enough to immerse the wood. This saves some of the applying, examining, reapplying, etc, Then after a good soaking, wipe off and dry and continue as usual.
I have 4 feet of snow on my deck. I saw a deer laying in the snow yesterday but then it wasn't laying as it was moving. Snow higher than the deer's belly 
Be awhile for any daffodils here.
Be awhile for any daffodils here.
Yikes! Reminds me of growing up south of Pittsburgh. Can't remember 4' but 2' is so much fun (when you're a kid.)
For some odd reason people are moving to East TN from all over, I can't understand it
Can't be the weather, right? The green mountains, lakes, art/culture, music, hunting/fishing, outdoor sports?
Or the cost of living and land and housing, cost of gas? (I paid $2.39 yesterday but later saw $2.17 advertised.)
Oh, some are woodturners, maybe come for the free hardwood, turning clubs, and craft schools?
I walked around my farm the end of February a few years ago and took some photos:
We are within 600 mile radius of Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Baltimore, Asheville, Charoltte, Greenville, Chattanooga, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Coast, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Little Rock. The intersection of I-75 and I40 is in Knoxville.
JKJ
$4.59 in California. Wife calls it the weather tax. But only in the 60s today
Maybe part of it is the gasoline tax in CA is almost 45 cents a gallon higher than here. Maybe part is the major fuel distribution hub near the intersection of major N-S/E-W interstates. Or maybe things in CA costs more just because everyone's loaded - I heard a rumor that woodturners all buy new high-end lathes every year- is this true?
JKJ
JKJ,
Ignore my shed that I’m sneaking in to your farm
Ignore my shed that I’m sneaking in to your farm
Turned the Tenon between centers. It’s flipped ready. My knee and back are not!
Annndd… dang it I scrapped my stinky leg as I stupidly walked. I swear. It’s bad enough with these tubes coming out of my nasty Kidneys!!
First casting n turning.
It’s really neat how there is almost zero noise when turning the smooth area.!
Annndd… dang it I scrapped my stinky leg as I stupidly walked. I swear. It’s bad enough with these tubes coming out of my nasty Kidneys!!
First casting n turning.
It’s really neat how there is almost zero noise when turning the smooth area.!
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Messing around with some more teak scraps and resin
Twice turned ash bowl, final step...
Lovely and crazy grain! It also shows how shallow a mortise is needed even on a large bowl.
Working on improving on finials. John Lucas did a demo for our Cookeville TN club on turning a Morse taper to hold finial material. Works great! Ive read John Jordan (not the famous one) on here talk about it but never saw it demonstrated. I’ve set a goal for myself this year to improve my finials, this is the first one. A hugh improvement on my last one. Thanks john
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Ah, finial finesse is a first-class function!
I don't remember seeing the Lucas method demonstrated but then my brain cell count is constantly decreasing. I think he told me once he turned a longer taper than I do. Probably holds better, but not needed for how I use one.
Hey, I did a demo on my 2MT holding in the Crossville club in June of 2016. I didn't see you there. WHAT, you missed that one???
And showed/taught it in nine other clubs, private sessions, and workshops. Missed those too??? I have another one scheduled for a club in Charlotte NC in a couple of months. I always show that holding method when I demo thin spindles since it has several advantages. The way I make and used them is also in my Thin Spindle doc posted on this site too (Appendix 1, page 20).
JKJ
Ok doke.
I am at the last stage.
Next step is to drill and hollow the interior.
At the last moment of course I got a few small chips! I’m just going to live that for now.
I’m waiting on some Novus. I wish to try it.
Though my last two steps were sanding polishing with a 6000 pad. All sanding was done wet. Multiple grit steps , though from 2000 I only had a 6000.
Also used McGuires.
When I take it off the Lathe, my intention is to buff it in my Beall setup, holding mostly at 90 Deg. To the Turn. The last tiny scratches are in turn direction.
Thinking of skipping the Tripoli wheel.
I am at the last stage.
Next step is to drill and hollow the interior.
At the last moment of course I got a few small chips! I’m just going to live that for now.
I’m waiting on some Novus. I wish to try it.
Though my last two steps were sanding polishing with a 6000 pad. All sanding was done wet. Multiple grit steps , though from 2000 I only had a 6000.
Also used McGuires.
When I take it off the Lathe, my intention is to buff it in my Beall setup, holding mostly at 90 Deg. To the Turn. The last tiny scratches are in turn direction.
Thinking of skipping the Tripoli wheel.